Review | JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (UK Tour) April 2015

Andrew Lloyd Webber's timeless tale of a band of brothers in a biblical bonanza of colour and high energy dance routines bursts onto the Belgrade stage this week.

With a score of well known classics, the show never fails to leave you grinning from ear to ear. In a re-energised 2015 production from Bill Kenwright, X Factor finalists provide a pop injection to bring the show bang up to date. With new orchestrations and moderations to direction, Joseph is back and on better form than before.

Heading up the cast is Lloyd Daniels, as hero Joseph - the twelfth son of Jacob, despised by his brothers and sold into slavery. With a winning smile and overwhelming charm Daniels' has the audience in the palm of his hand - his Welsh tones perfectly suit the score through ballad and the more upbeat. He provides a necessary naivety yet remained a confident frontman and ensure everyone leaves on a high.

Amelia Lily is a strong narrator, creating her own, unique version of the role that draws on her chart-topping vocal skills. Whereas usually the narrator boasts an incredibly high vocal range, lowering the octave occasionally ensures that Lily can instead use her trademark belt to wow the audience. A very impressive theatrical debut.

Matt Lapinskas roused the crowd as the Pharoah and his Elvis turn let the audience know well and truly that he is in the building... they were shouting for more - literally!

As an ensemble show, there is great deal of stage time for an energetic group of brothers who provide excellent backing vocals and constant humour and the female handmaidens prove to be excellent dancers. There is full marks for enthusiasm. 

Even after all these years, the inflatable sheep used still haven't learnt to behave and inflate properly but it's all part of the charm. With delightful costumes and the occasional pair of Ugg boots, the show is as ever the complete visual treat.

Unoffensive, family fun with singing camels for good measure, who could ask for anything more? With every possible musical style imaginable there's something for everyone. It's simple storytelling but incredibly hard to resist coming back again and again. At Belgrade Theatre Coventry until Saturday 25 April. Tickets here. 

Cast List: Lloyd Daniels, Amelia Lily, Henry Metcalfe, Matt Lapinskas, Sam Hallion, Camilla Rowland, Andrew Bateup, Marcus Ayton, Alfred Bache, Joel Burman, Robert Colvin, Matt Brinkler, Jamie Jukes, Craig Golding, Matt Blaker, Samantha Noel, Daisy Steere, Chris Kayson. 

Review | THE PRODUCERS (UK Tour) April 2015

It's the greatest failure in the history of show business.... at least that's what it's supposed to be! 'Springtime For Hitler', the Neo-Nazi musical on the misunderstood Fuhrer is what lame producers Bialystock and Bloom intend to stage in order to rake in the remaining funds of a doomed Broadway musical in the smash hit Broadway musical - The Producers!

It's perhaps as confusing and seemingly irrelevant on paper as it is on stage, but much like the show that features within it, The Producers is a sure fire hit ... at least it is with a string of star names to it. 

Here, the show is cast for entertainment value and it's stars take precedence over anything else. Top of the bill is Stand Up Comedian Jason Manford. Incredibly likeable as accountant-turned-Broadway Producer Leo Bloom, with a cartoony voice like a timid Mickey Mouse, he wins over the audience with what at first is a seemingly subtle performance that explodes in song - a perhaps surprising element to his performance, he wins over any doubters. 

Manford is paired well with Cory English as Max Bialystock who is no stranger to the role. Experience is definitely ripe as he earns some of the biggest cheers of the night. Phil Jupitus is sometimes a little difficult to understand behind all the German but is humorous in his portrayal of pigeon keeper, Playwright, Hitler obsessive Franz Liebkind. 

Stage veteran David Badella brings Broadway charm as only he can. His rich sound and smooth voice is something of his trademark and works particularly well with the role of Roger De Bris, a fabulously flamboyant image of the over theatrical, cross-dressing director. In a later, excellent turn as Hitler, hilarity breaks out in the show's most spectacular dance number - full of glamour, full of glitz and camp as.... well, they rhyme with glitz. 

As if it wasn't already overly theatrical enough, Louie Spence ensures that you don't leave with your cravings for camp unsatisfied. His hilarious Carmen Ghia is something of an upstaging of almost everything but the audience lap up every pirouette, every backbend and bevel. 

Finally, Tiffany Graves is excellent as Ulla, she's got it and she flaunts it. 

The set is pretty minimal with a lot of moving going on behind a waving back cloth, it is distracting and clunky set pieces prove difficult to manoeuvre sometimes. A lot of this is covered up well with vibrant choreography however. Almost like a Bialystock and Bloom production with creased swastika laden curtains, the production doesn't boast the highest production values, but it doesn't matter. The Producers has been done far more lavishly before but here money has been well spent elsewhere with a well chosen, star cast and enthusiastic ensemble make this something of a sure fire hit!

Highly hilarious, farcical, at most times irrelevant, it shouldn't work but it does - much like the show it's about. An easy, fun and (most importantly) entertaining night at the theatre. At Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 25 April. Tickets here. 

Review | RENT (Hutton Theatre) April 2015

Jonathan Larson's RENT has in recent years grown increasingly popular in the amateur and off-West End theatres. With a great number of productions popping up, you wonder perhaps what is the draw to a musical notorious in its focus on impoverished young artists under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. It is the sense of community that is most endearing and set to a powerful rock score its highly appealing on many levels, despite the ultimate focus on struggle. 

Talking of struggle, to set this in the round has its challenges and here director Alastair Norton takes his focus on community and utilises the non-traditional performance space to emphasise that theme. In South Staffs Musical Theatre Company's latest production, you find yourself surrounded and ultimately part of the Bohemian world. For the duration, you're exposed and involved - the seats aren't the most comfortable, but neither is Bohemian life. It's a 360, immersive experience - a unique way to present a musical that is perhaps otherwise considered overdone. To disregard tradition and present an entirely new format is a brave move... but a risk well taken. 

The space does have limitations and depending on where you're sat, sometimes crucial moments are missed. The only way to overcome this is to keep rotating the action which would eventually become tiresome - the emerging talent helps indefinitely to look past any sightline niggles - as a regular theatregoer you'd come to expect this in any round performance. 

The cast is headed up by Matt Nicholas and Chris Eastup as Mark and Roger - one a documentary maker, the other a guitarist. Nicholas gives a particularly focused, endearing Mark while Eastup with his shadowy eyeliner is more toughened and impresses with a solid vocal performance. Eastup's duet with Lexie Bennett as Mimi is particularly beautiful, a heartbreaking and incredibly raw moment. Nicole Roberts also impresses as Maureen - a comic rendition of Over The Moon conjures laughter from the audience, invited to 'moo' with her. She is paired well with Abbie Rai as Joanne and between them manage to riff some notable lines of Take Me Or Leave Me. 

Andrew Newton manages to keep a cold heart as Benny while at the opposite end, James Thomas is suitably flamboyant with a generous disposition as young drag queen Angel Schunard. Thomas works well with Simon McGee as Tom Collins and the pair deliver some tender and  more lighthearted earlier moments. 

Throughout the evening, vocals are controlled well to tackle the demands of the incredibly complex and rather high rock score - there are moments that don't meet vocal perfection but evidently, a lot of time has gone into solid harmony work from a dedicated ensemble. 

This is a subtle RENT, you won't be overpowered by incredibly loud rock music from this band of five. What is usually loud, trashy and in-your-face is actually stripped back and interestingly, creates a more tender, susceptible production - much like the vulnerable personalities that these characters are trying to hide. It reveals and observes an unseen layer. 

Ultimately, South Staff's RENT has been nurtured by director Norton, to be the best it can with venue and cast. And as the cast sing "Christmas bells are ringing..." for the final time tonight, the company then look forward to their next production, White Christmas at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 1 - 5 December. Tickets here. 

Photographs | New Era Photography

Rent Cast List: Chris Eastup, Matt Nicholas, Simon McGee, Andrew Newton, Abbie Rai, James Thomas, Lexie Bennett, Nicole Roberts, Ellie Farmer, Niamh-Margaret McGowan, Kate Pingree-Webber, David Michael Ball, Marcus Perry, Dan Flaherty, Natalie Baggott, James Collins. 

Review | Cirque Eloize CIRKOPOLIS (UK Tour) March 2015

Cirque Éloize bring their circus to town this week, far from clowns throwing buckets of water, the most intricately trained team present a show that combines the worlds of circus, dance and theatre. In  this, Cirkopolis we find ourselves trapped n the heart of a stern and imposing city in appearance, giant gears and dark portals symbolise a mechanism that crushes individuality.

We begin somewhere between imagination and reality. The day to day and the mundane life of city workers makes for a stark and repetitive opening ... it's like work life. The joy is in finding the little things that make a difference and offer something fresh. A little puppet presses a bell and provides momentary humour before the stage is flooded with rushing commuters. 

It is when a female emerges from the crowd in a red dress that colour interrupts the monochromatic madness. A solitary moment she (Léa Toran Jenner) forlornly takes to the Cyr wheel and gives a heartfelt, emotional routine as she manipulates the wheel. It's incredibly lonely and suggests she wants to explore beyond  the confines of her ring but even central hero, Ashley (Ashley Carr), is happy is happy to suppress his individuality in order to fit in. 

It's easy to spectate and draw comparisons with your own life, but importantly, waiting in the wings are more colourful characters who along the way show Ashley and remind you that there is fun to be had. With a fearless ensemble, the evening is full of stunning aerial acts, the danse trapeze, juggling, the German wheel, teeterboard and Chinese pole - the foundations of circus skills are all there but this is far more sophisticated. 

There's an impressive use of projection that depicts the industrialised floating city and through an increased intensity of light and the addition of colour, a vibrant finale ends these people's journey  that thoroughly and most entertainingly progresses from the monochrome to a more elaborate, thrilling, high energy climax. With moments of pure tenderness and others of hilarity, Cirkopolis is  both frantic and fantastically fascinating.

View the trailer

See Cirkopolis at Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 28 March. Tickets here. 

The cast of OKLAHOMA prepare for Comic Relief at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre!

As the critically-acclaimed national tour of OKLAHOMA! arrived at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, members of the cast took time out from their busy schedule and put their toe-tapping skills to the test to take part in a special warm-up ahead of the first ever Comic Relief Danceathon this Sunday 8th March.

Nic Greenshields who plays Jud Fry in the show said: “We simply couldn't resist getting involved to show our support for this year’s Red Nose Day. The Comic Relief Danceathon looks really fun so we would love everyone in the area to get involved and help raise some all-important cash.”

Kara Lane & Nic Greenshields

Lucy May Barker in the role of Ado Annie said: “It’s always incredibly fun to get involved in Red Nose Day and this year will be no different. Simply pop on your dancing shoes this Sunday, grab your friends and get sponsored to dance along at home!

“By taking part you’ll be making a huge difference to the lives of people right here in the West Midlands, in the UK and across Africa.”

The charity is calling on fundraisers to get together at home, in village halls, gyms or any location and dance non-stop for six hours. Fundraisers can follow a live, star-studded Danceathon at The SSE Arena, Wembley on the BBC Red Button. Over 2,000 fundraisers will dance non-stop at the fun filled Wembley event, hosted by Claudia Winkleman and with a host of famous faces set to join in too.

The money raised by the Comic Relief Danceathon will be spent across the West Midlands, all over the UK, and across Africa, helping vulnerable and disadvantaged people living incredibly tough lives.

For more information about the Comic Relief Danceathon and to book tickets or get involved where you are head to www.rednoseday.com/danceathon. For other ways to get involved this Red Nose Day or to really look the part, fundraisers can pick up the official Red Nose Day t-shirt from TK Maxx, and of course Red Noses from Sainsbury’s. Fundraising kits, giving pages and all the latest Red Nose Day stories are available from www.rednoseday.com

OKLAHOMA! is on at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until Saturday 7th March, tickets here and on tour around the UK until 8th August. 

Preview | WELSH NATIONAL OPERA Spring Season at Birmingham Hippodrome

A season of enchantment and delight is on offer from Welsh National Opera this spring with a trio of spellbinding productions which will come to Birmingham Hippodrome between 4-7 March 2015.

Spellbound is the theme for Spring 2015, which will highlight the natural affinity between music and magic with revivals of Hansel & Gretel and The Magic Flute alongside a new production: Chorus!

Chorus! opens the opera company's Spring 2015 Season. This new version, also under the creative vision and direction of David Pountney, celebrates one of WNO’s greatest assets, the Chorus. Chorus! will feature soprano Lesley Garrett CBE performing alongside the WNO Chorus, and will be an enchanting, witty and spectacular journey through the rich repertoire of choral music and a chance to experience some of opera’s best-loved moments.

The production will include opera classics such as the ‘Humming Chorus’ from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and ‘Va Pensiero’ from Verdi’s Nabucco alongside the Epigraph from Prokofiev’s War and Peace and ‘Alabama Song’ from Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Two pieces from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance will also feature: ‘A Policeman’s Lot’ and ‘With Cat-like Tread’. Chorus! will be conducted by WNO Chorus Master, Alexander Martin.

View the trailer for Chorus!

Classic revivals of The Magic Flute and Hansel & Gretel will transport the audience into a world of magic, make-believe and delight, but are also ultimately about the power of rationalism over magic. WNO Music Director Lothar Koenigs will conduct both Hansel & Gretel and The Magic Flute.

Mozart’s much-loved The Magic Flute returns to WNO in this Magritte-inspired production – originally directed by Dominic Cooke – which features an angry lobster, a newspaper-reading lion and a fish that is transformed into a bicycle. The roles of the three boys will be sung by female students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama as part of WNO’s partnership with the college to provide mentoring and support for its Opera Performance students.

View the trailer for The Magic Flute

The revival of Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel – originally directed by Richard Jones – is a dark re-telling of the well-known fairytale. Ailish Tynan will sing Gretel and Jurgita Adamonyté will sing Hansel. Adrian Thompson, who returns to WNO following his performances in Boulevard Solitude in Spring 2013, will sing the role of The Witch.

Listen to a sample from Hansel & Gretel

Describing the Spring season, WNO Chief Executive and Artistic Director David Pountney says: “Enchantment is a feeling that awakens the child in all of us, and The Magic Flute and Hansel and Gretel offer plenty of such moments of naive delight. Both operas too, like all good fairy tales, have a serious point to make, and show a young couple learning how to read and understand the good and the bad that is in the world, emerging stronger and ready for a better future. Our production of Chorus! too is like one of those walks in the woods that are the common fare of fairy tales: where will it lead - is there a happy ending, or indeed an ending at all? It is in fact a kind of mystery tour in the company of 40 of our best and finest singers - so whatever the ending means, you can be sure it will be a rousing one!”

PERFORMANCE DATES AND BOOKING LINKS

CHORUS | Wed 4 March Book Here

THE MAGIC FLUTE | Thurs 5 & Fri 6 March Book Here

HANSEL & GRETEL | Sat 7 March Book Here

Image from Hansel & Gretel

Review | THE HISTORY BOYS (UK Tour) February 2015

Alan Bennett's play about a Sheffield boys' grammar school in the early 1980s started life at the National Theatre. What is billed as 'the nation's favourite play' is perhaps so because of it's timeless nature. The play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxford and Cambridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers with very different styles of teaching. 

For what is an obvious commentary of school at the time, it is apparent that behaviour and attitudes in Bennett's play are not far removed from our own days of education - regardless of era. Despite the familiarity within the classroom setting however, what is presented at times is far from realism... It would be difficult to imagine in a modern school, let alone one in the 80s whereby a student was openly 'seeing' the head teacher's PA and not merely an eyebrow is raised. 

Without wishing to refer to the boys a stereotypes (for their characters are much deeper than that), the troubles within this group of eight would be recognisable in almost all classrooms and it's that familiarity that makes the two hours and forty minutes pass by quicker than break time. 

You easily find yourself engrossed in this new production from Sell A Door. It's a play full of warmth despite darker undertones and with huge heart, it's humorous interludes are both lyrical and visual. Imagine for example, an explicit French scene - acted atop a desk without trousers, smoking... anything goes as Hector's lesson prepares the boys not for exams... but you can't help but like Richard Hope's enthralling English teacher Hector. Despite inviting the boys for unsavoury rides on his motorbike, Hope transpires Hector's wonderful way with words to the stage from the page in a affectionate portrayal. 

Hollyoaks' Steven Roberts, in his stage debut is charming as Posner and Kedar Williams-Sterling as Dakin commands presence as the most advanced student. The subjects are all handled so tastefully and pieced together under the narration and piano playing of the excellent Alex Hope as Scripps. 

This new production of the play voted the nation's favourite is entirely captivating, a production that shouldn't worry about being consigned to the history books. Far from the past, it's as ever relevant today. Even as a spectator you are in fact a pupil - learn from this masterpiece that reason for education (and ultimately great theatre) is to pass it on.

Top marks for The History Boys at Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre until Sat 28 February. Tickets here. 

Cast List: Steven Roberts, Kedar Williams-Sterling, Alex Hope, David Young, Patrick McNamee, Sid Sagar, Joshua Mayes-Cooper, Matthew Durkan, Mark Field, Richard Hope, Christopher Ettridge, Suswan Twist, Chris Barritt, Melody Brown. 

Review | VINCENT AND FLAVIA DANCE 'TIL DAWN (UK Tour) February 2015

After a hugely successful tour and West End residency, stars of Strictly Come Dancing, Vincent and Flavia return to the regional stage with style. Their trademark Argentinian Tango leaps into the golden age of Hollywood dance, film-makers putting them on the silver screen. Far from the late night bar of Buenos Aires - the setting of previous hit Midnight Tango, the formidable pair take to the stage in 1940's L.A. as Sadie Strauss (Cacace) and Tony Deluca (Simone) - the romantic leads of a comedy about a beautiful starlet and her handsome beau.

Narrator Teddy Kempner is a familiar face in the Strictly duo's shows - here he plays Tommy Dubrowski whose humour is both witty and welcome between dramatic dance numbers. The gags can be cheesy but fit in with the exaggerated theme. There is excellent narration within the choreography - however, Kempner is expert at breaking up the already succinct action with excellent comic timing. 

Abbie Osmon is Lana, who must get her hands on incriminating photographic evidence of her fling with Bobby Burns - the man Sadie is contracted to make films with... Osman, a natural powerhouse raises the roof with impressive vocals in her own take on recognisable classics such as That's Life. 

The Strictly duo are effortless in rhythm, pace and finesse, completely at one with the soundtrack - the perfect blend of 'tangoed' favourites such as Moon River, Stand By Me and more recent hits Paolo Nutini's Pencil Full Of Lead, Caro Emerald's That Man and Bruno Mars' Runaway Baby is a great, high-energy climax to Act I. The live band are excellent - they can pack a punch and set a serene scene - the perfect accompaniment to Oliver Darley's musical interludes. 

A dynamic ensemble master all aspects of the piece co-choreographed by the Strictly professionals and Karen Bruce, who also directed. A highlight is Cacace's routine without Simone but with the male ensemble - leaping from a  staircase with wild abandon, she tears across the dance floor and is simply, strictly thrilling.  

There is a rustic, seemingly simplistic set by Morgan Large, who, as always ensures a surprise element from a gorgeous, clever design that transports you from the likes of a bustling film studio to a glamorous swimming pool bar and to a dowdy office in a mere instance. 

At times you loose yourself in the dance show that could quite easily be a West End musical. This show is packed full of every element that makes a perfect night at the theatre. 

View the shows trailer:

Dance 'Til Dawn is at Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 14 February. Book tickets here. 

Cast List: Flavia Cacace, Vincent Simone, Oliver Darley, Teddy Kempner, Abbie Osmon, Faye Best, Tyman Boatwright, Callum Clack, Ivan De Freitas, Ben Harris, Rebecca Lisewski, Jemima Loddy, Ian Oswald, Giovanni Spanó, Danny Stowell, Lauren Stroud, Lindsey Tierney, Gemma Whitelam. 

Preview | OKLAHOMA (UK Tour) First look at the cast!

First pictures have been released of the upcoming OKLAHOMA tour, featuring Gary Wilmot as Ali Hakim, Belinda Lang as Aunt Eller, Ashley Day (The Book Of Mormon) as Curly and Charlotte Wakefield (The Sound Of Music) as Laurey. 

Touring the UK after premiering in Northampton, the production visits Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 3 - Saturday 7 March. Click here for tickets. 

Ashley Day & Charlotte Wakefield

The cast also includes Nic Greenshields as Jud Fry, Lucy May Barker as Ado Annie, James O’Connell as Will Parker, Paul Grunert as Andrew Carnes, Kara Lane as Gertie Cummings, Christopher D Hunt as Cord Elam and Barnaby Thompson as Ike Skidmore.

The ensemble features Simon Anthony, Christina Bennington, Robbie Boyle, Katie Marie-Carter, Lisa Dent, Emilie du Leslay, Ian Gareth-Jones, Hannah Grace, Ross Lee Fowkes, Perry O’Dea, Sasi Strallen and Gabriella Stylianou.

Belinda Lang

Hear our friends at The Milk Bar podcast talk to Gary Wilmot about his upcoming role:

The tour is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh - former Artistic Director of the Birmingham REP. She directed An Ideal Husband at the Chichester Festival Theatre last autumn. Other credits include The Sound of Music at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Love Story in Chichester and the West End, and The Merry Wives of Windsor for the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

Ashley Day

Dance numbers are given the Drew McOnie treatment, the highly acclaimed young choreographer's credits include In the Heights for Southwark Playhouse, The Sound of Music and Chicago for Leicester Curve, Soho Cinders at the Soho Theatre, and Dames at Sea and On the 20th Century at the Union Theatre. He recently launched his own theatre dance company, The McOnie Company.

Gary Wilmot

OKLAHOMA!, with music by Richard Rodgers and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, was based on the Lynn Riggs play Green Grow the Lilacs and was the first musical written by the duo. It was originally produced on Broadway in 1943 and the Academy Award-winning film was released in 1955. Set in the Oklahoma territory in the early 1900s, the musical tells the story of two sets of star-crossed lovers. Cowboy Curly loves Laurey, Aunt Eller’s niece, but Curly’s rival is the mysterious and dangerous hired hand Jud Fry. Meanwhile, Ado Annie is torn between cowboy Will and peddler Ali Hakim. Their stories are told with the help of some of the best loved songs in musical theatre history, including Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, I’m Just a Girl Who Cain’t Say No, Surrey With a Fringe on Top, Kansas City, People Will Say We’re in Love and the title song.

Photos by Pamela Raith. Click here for tickets.

SEE THE CAST IN REHEARSAL

Ashley Day

Lucy May Baker and Gary Wilmot

Sasi Strallen, Drew McOnie and cast.

Director Rachel Kavanaugh and Choreographer Drew McOnie

Charlotte Wakefield and Ashley Day

Review | SPAMALOT (UK Tour) Review February 2015

Spamalot, Christopher Luscombe's latest incarnation of Eric Idle and Jon Du Prez's musical, lovingly ripped off from Monty Python's The Holy Grail, returns to Birmingham for a third time. Since it's 2010 premiere, the musical that is somewhat scaled back from the 2006 West End version is at it's most concentrated, hilarious and faultless best. 

An outrageous conglomeration of various Python anecdotes from the other films and TV series,  audiences are taken nightly on a journey across medieval Britain with King Arthur (Joe Pasquale) and his noble steed Patsy (Todd Carty) along with knights (not days, but knights) of the very round table on a quest to find the grail and eventually turn the whole thing into a musical...

You won't succeed in Birmingham if you don't have any stars and this production is full of them. Not only the big 'TV' name stars - Pasquale and Carty, but in the supporting cast. Sarah Earnshaw proves to be in phenomenal voice as the Lady Of The Lake - a stereotypical diva with excellent comic timing - a warm and much welcome addition to the cast. Carty is a subtle Patsy, running around and clonking his coconuts. He earns most of his attention when doing very little, he masters the part of the almost silent sidekick and delights with his rousing rendition of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. 

Richard Kent shows his versatility not only as Not Dead Fred (who can dance, sing and do the highland fling) but also in a hilarious turn as the flamboyant Prince Herbert - with an incredibly strong falsetto. Jamie Tyler is excellent not only as Sir Lancelot but as the Knight Of Ni, Tim The Enchanter and as the side-splitting French Taunter.

With Joe Pasquale firmly at the helm you can expect high volume hilarity and two hours of absolute fun. Pasquale is almost like his pantomime characters, the loveable jester, but here he finds himself King, which lends well to the insane plot... in what other musical would you find a scene-stealing Mary Berry mincing about with a trolley of cakes!?

Hugh Durrant has created the most charming little set and there's a fine orchestra. It doesn't drag on either, at two hours long Spamalot is just concentrated hilarity from start to finish. It's as camp as the Camelot YMCA, it's bold, it's British (and a little bit French) and you'll laughalot til you cryalot.

At Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 7 February. Tickets here.

Cast List: Joe Pasquale, Sarah Earnshaw, Todd Carty, Will Hawksworth, Richard Kent, Richard Meek, Jamie Tyler, Josh Wilmott, Daniel Cane, Abigail Climer, Matthew Dale, Holly Easterbrook, Richard Astbury, Ste Clough, Inez Mackenzie

Review | RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (UK Tour) January 2015

It's like Dreamboats and Petticoats, for Star Wars fans... but this came first. It's the West End musical that opened at the Cambridge theatre in 1989 and won Best West End Musical at that year's Olivier Awards - beating Miss Saigon.... that in itself is quite bizarre but nothing can quite prepare you for 3 hours of Shakespeare's The Tempest set aboard a spaceship. 

The storm, a meteor shower, causes them to land mysteriously on the planet D'Illyria where they meet mad scientist Doctor Prospero, who has been marooned on the planet - the story continues to the plot of The Tempest and manages to stall what would otherwise be a decent concert. 

Rodney Ford's set is interesting enough, but after three hours is a little static, cast tend to be just stood around, or playing a trumpet in the background but musically, the production impresses. Mark Newnham particularly shines as Cookie and Joseph Mann is humorous as robot Ariel. Sarah Scowen is in fine voice as Miranda and Queen guitarist Brian May appearing on a screen as the narrator is an added highlight. 

Return To The Forbidden Planet may have paved the way for other actor-musician musicals (of which there is now an abundance) and similarly dystopian musicals such as We Will Rock You but the success of the more modern musical relies on less cringeworthy ideas of sci-fi than a robot that looks rather like the Tin Man, hairdryer guns and the batting around of an inflatable ball. Musicals have moved on but Forbidden Planet and it's core audience haven't - they love it and there's a lot for them to love. The musicianship is excellent, vocals are top-notch but the production boasts little to impress or engage a new, younger audience. It's ultimately tacky, but a full standing ovation at the end cemented the fact that an audience have come, had fun and enjoyed themselves.

At Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 31 January. Tickets here. 

Cast List: Steve Simmonds, Sean Needham, Christine Holman, Greg Last, Mark Newnham, Jonathan Markwood, Joseph Mann, Sarah Scowen, Georgina Field, Callum Hughes, David Heywood, Brian May, Hannah Howcroft. 

Review | EAST IS EAST (UK Tour) January 2015

East Is East, the comedy-drama by Ayub Khan Din was first produced by Tamasha Theatre Company in co-production with the Royal Court and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1996. Returning to Birmingham some 19 years later, it appears that Din's semi-autobiographical piece is as ever-relevant today in it's latest incarnation fresh from a three month run at the Trafalgar Studios. 

The play and subsequent film is often cited as one of the key works to bring Asian culture to mainstream British audiences and despite the variation in cultures attending, the play is welcoming on all parts with an equal dash of humour and good heart. It is highly comic as we see George Khan (played by writer Ayub Khan Din) struggle to cope with the changing world but at the same time, it takes it's toll and strains within the family unit make for some perhaps unexpected, harder hitting scenes.

It appeals on many levels, for it's much deeper than a mere opportunity to laugh at dated tradition. There are definitely stereotypes at the core but played with such conviction, notably the excellent Jane Horrocks as Khan's long-suffering wife Ella, you're wanting to reassure her of her credibility as a mother when she's left questioning her weakness in allowing her son to be circumcised as a religious rite. 

"Draw us a foreskin then!" cries only daughter Meenah to her art student brother Saleem. The children are bold and brash as they test new waters and attempt to overcome confusions about identity defining themselves as Pakistani, British and Muslim. understudy Deepal Parmar holds her own against the boys as a strong presence in the household as Meenah. There is also an endearing performance from Michael Karim as Sajit - a recluse in his own Parka coat.

Hilarity ensues at a climactic tea party between the Khan's and the parents of two sisters betrothed to brothers Abul and Tariq. I rarely laugh out loud, it takes a lot, but the hilarity is outrageous and altogether sidesplitting.

Mention must also go to designer Tom Scutt’s brilliant set - a cross between Coronation Street and Blood Brothers, the Salford terrace and chip shop that further authenticates the world in which you must escape to for a life affirming tale of one man's love for his family.

At Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre until Sat 17 January and then Richmond Theatre and Manchester Opera House - tickets for all venues here.

Cast List: Taj Atwal, Sally Bakes, Nathan Clarke, Jane Horrocks, Michael Karim, Johndeep More, Ayub Khan Din, Ashley Kumar, Darren Kuppan, Rani Moorthy, Amit Shah, Hassani Shapi, Pamela Bennett, Deepal Parmar, Ash Rizi, Karl Seth.